ABT – Lady of the Camellias – Tuesday 5/25

At about 7:00 p.m. people began filing in to take their seats at the estate auction.  Already there was a sense of reserve and quiet respect in the audience.  Someone had died.  All of her beautiful things were tagged and on the stage for us to examine.  Most of us were acquainted with the deceased.  We had met her time and time again at the Met.  We already knew that her beautiful possessions masked a sad, diseased life of heartbreak and betrayal.  And we were ready to hear her story once again.

 

It was a distinctive opening to a distinctive evening of ballet theater.

 

John Neumeier's Lady of the Camellias is based on the 1848 novel by Alexandre Dumas about Marguerite Gautier, a French courtesan ill with tuberculosis who falls deeply in love with Armand Duval.  It doesn't end well for either character.  It never does.  Their story has filled the Met Opera House for years as Verdi's La Traviata.  As word slowly spreads about this ballet, which is set to Chopin's heartfelt music, their story will yet again pull scores of people into the Met.

 

Julie Kent as Marguerite gave what may be a career defining performance.  The depth of her portrayal of Marguerite in her slide from gilded bliss into consumptive death was outstanding. Roberto Bolle as Armand was exceptional – the weight of his acting and the beauty of his dancing so right, so musically-inspired that he was Alfredo, as well.  Their PdDs were filled with passion that climaxed with stunning lifts and descents.

 

In the Neumeier production, Marguerite identifies with Manon Lescaut from a ballet performance, and the character haunts her throughout the evening.  Manon was portrayed by Gillian Murphy; Des Grieux by David Hallberg.  The insertion of Manon into the story was fascinating.  However, Haglund didn't think that Gillian fit the bill as a Manon - someone obsessed with riches but also someone for whom we should care something about.  Hallberg, on the other hand, dear god, we must see him as Des Grieux in the next run of MacMillan's Manon.  He is learning how to "stalk" like Bocca used to and he looks like a poet, and as awful as this sounds, Haglund loves seeing him get his heart broken.  It hurts good.

 

Xiomara Reyes and Jared Matthews were fabulous as Prudence and Gaston Rieux.  It is now clear that Xiomara has a talent for bringing out the very best in whomever she dances with – as she did once again last night with Jared Matthews.  What ever is going on inside Jared, it needs to be bottled and shared with a few others, because he is having one phenomenal year - beginning with last fall's season.  Everything is coming together at once for him - the dancing, the acting, the energy.  He is turning out to be surprisingly exciting.  Xiomara was perfect as Prudence.  Her variations, full of challenging choreography, showed her character to be charming and funny. 

Hee Seo as Olympia danced remarkably but the character was the same as her kittenish Gamzatti.  We have to get beyond the pretty smiles and sideways glances onto something more meaningful.  But she is beautiful to watch with lovely feet and legs, and last night her technique was solid.

The corps de ballet played less of a role than that to which we are accustomed in full length ballets, but nevertheless danced well in full character and in gorgeous costumes by Jurgen Rose.  The production's lighting was very appealing and was a major player in moving the drama along.  Some of the choreographic devices such as using the very front and sides of the stage which lead down into the audience brought the drama closer to the audience effectively.  It was a nice touch.

The evening's pianists were Soheil Nasseri (on stage) and Koji Attwood (in the center of the pit).  Their playing was beautiful, and happily, could be heard throughout the cavernous Met.  However, this is one production for which you want to sit closer to the orchestra and the stage.

It was a good evening of theater.  Haglund bestows these lovely Chanel camellia Pump Bump Awards to Julie and Roberto for their stunning performances last evening:

Comments

[jose]

Great review as usual. I'm away from nyc for a few days. Are you seeing other casts(including your favorite soloist's). Looking forward for your reports.

[michael]

wow, i saw this performance as well; it was the last performance of roberto in abt during the met season! i actually saw the entire performance of agnes letestu and stephane bullion over on youtube, so i was expecting a lot from julie kent and roberto bolle, i'm glad they delivered, and much much more!